Anchor with folding stabilizers



United States Patent Richard C. Towne 822 W. Roderick Ave., Oxnard,93030; Johnnie V. Stalcup, 146 Alvarado $1., Meiners Oaks, California93023 Appl. No. 762,552

Filed Sept. 25, 1968 Patented Sept. 8, 1970 Inventors ANCHOR WITHFOLDING STABILIZERS 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 114/208 Int. Cl B63b 21/36 Field of Search 1 14/207,

' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1966 Wilson FORElGN PATENTS103.452 3/1938 Australia 1. /1 7 Great Britain Primary Examiner-TrygveM. Blix AttorneysQ. Baxter Warner and Edgar .l. Brower ABSTRACT: In ananchor construction of the type wherein a pair of fluke arms arejournaled at the end of a shank the improvement which consists inproviding stabilizers hinged to the outside edge of each fluke andconstituting an extension of the tripping palm surfaces. Each stabilizeris moveable from a retracted shipping and storage position closelyabutting the outer edge of the fluke to an extended operating positionin substantial alignment with the fluke trunnion. Means is provided tolock the stabilizer arms in their extended positions.

Patented Sept. 8, 1970 v 3,527,187

I/VI/EIVTORS RICHARD C. TOWNE JOHNNIE V. STALCUP ANCHOR WITH FOLDINGSTABILIZERS STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention describedherein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of theUnited States of America for governmental purposes without the paymentof any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to ship type anchor constructions for mooring floatingstructures and particularly to anchors having protruding portions whichcan be collapsed for shipment and storage.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore anchor constructions havebeen devised which were collapsible for storage or shipment and whichcould be erected on site for use. Such devices generally utilize ratherinvolved linkages and supports to reinforce the anchor parts and, thoughsatisfactory in the smaller sizes, prove cumbersome and impractical asanchor size is increased.

Furthermore it is essential that the collapsible means be simple innature, strong in construction and capable of satisfactory operationeven after prolonged exposure under corrosion inducing conditions.

In larger sizes such anchor constructions ordinarily contemplate thatthe projecting parts, such as stabilizer arms, will be permanentlywelded in place either prior to shipment or upon arrival in the field.If the latter, it is of course required that there be available in thefield suitable welding equipment and also suitable heavy anchor liftingand positioning equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An anchor construction wherein a stabilizer armis hingedly mounted on the outer edge of each fluke. During storage orshipping each arm is folded alongside the outer edge of its fluke. Whenrequired for use each arm may be swung down .into a laterally projectingposition so as to constitute an exten' sion of the crown assembly and acontinuation of the tripping plate surfaces.

STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTS OF INVENTION It is an object of the presentinvention to provide an anchor construction which may be stored andshipped in a folded or collapsed condition but which can be erected onsite with a minimum of effort or tools and during which the use ofweldmg equipment is not necessary.

A further object is to provide in such an anchor a construction whereinthe stabilizer arms, when extended, constitute extensions of thesurfaces of the tripping palm plates and move with such plates.

Another object is to provide an anchor assembly of the characterdescribed which does not require the use of heavy lift equipment toready it for use.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjuction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of an anchorincorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a similar view ofa portion of FIG. 1 with the stabilizer armsextended. t

FIG. 3 is a perspective detail view, greatly enlarged, of the stabilizerarm rugged hinge construction and lock means.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged crosssectional view through one of the stabilizerarms and associated hinge and lock means, taken along a linesubstantially corresponding to line 4-4 ofFlG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing indetail, there is illustrated a conventional anchor construction whichincludes an elongated centrally disposed shank 10 having an anchor chainengaging shackle 12 located at one end and a pair of twin flukes l4 and16 pivotally mounted at the other end.

Flukes l4 and 16 lie on opposite sides of shank l0 and may be supportedon ajournaled trunnion bar 18 which lies within the oppositely directedflat tripping plate surfaces of the crown assembly 24. The details of asuitable journal arrangement are shown in our prior US. Pat. No.3,015,299 and therefore are not repeated here.

The improvement of the present invention lies in the provision of twolateral stabilizer arms 26, 28 mounted in the manner shown. In normaluse these arms extend outwardly in diametrically opposed directionsconstituting an extension of the tripping plate surfaces of the crownassembly. They serve to keep the anchor when dropped from resting onedge and hence assure that the twin flukes lie relatively flat on theocean bottom so that the maximum purchase is obtained. It will be clearthat the stabilizers necessarily project a considerable distance, andalso that they must each be very strongly and rigidly affixed to thecrown assembly in order to withstand the great strains of use. For thisreason they have heretofore been securely welded either during anchormanufacture or, if welding equipment is available they may be attachedin the field after the anchor has been shipped in disassembledcondition.

There is of course a considerable disadvantage to such arrangement sincewelding equipment is frequently not available in the field, also heavylifting equipment adequate to hold the parts in alignment during weldingis frequently not available in the field.

In the present invention the lateral stabilizers 26 and 28 each arepivotally supported upon its adjacent fluke by a very sturdy hinge andlock arrangement. As best illustrated in FIG. 3 this includes a pair ofspaced cheeks 30, 32 of rugged con struction securely mounted to therespective stabilizer arm 28 with the cheeks welded to and projectingfrom the stabilizer on opposite sides of a ridge point 34. The cheeks 30and 32 are apertured to receive a hinge pin 36 and by movement aboutthis pin the lateral stabilizer arm 28 may be moved into a positionalongside its adjacent fluke 16 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order to lock the lateral stabilizers 26 and 28 in their extendedposition so that the two forward surfaces constitute extensions of thetripping palm surfaces 20 of the crown as sembly each lateral stabilizerarm is provided on the rear face with a projecting weldment 38 having alock bolt receiving aperture 40 near its tip. When the lateralstabilizing arm is swung into the outwardly extending position thisweldment 38 is received between two cheeks 42 and 44, each of which issimilarly apertured at 46 to receive a lock bolt 48. With the lateralstabilizing arms extended and the lock bolt in place all movement ofsuch arms is prevented and they are securely retained in their extendedposition.

By accurately positioning the lock bolt holes and by leaving adequatetolerance the lock bolt shank 48 is freed of shearing stress and insteadrearward strain on the stabilizer arms is placed squarely at the placewhere the inner end of each stabilizer arm meets the end of the crownassembly. The absence of severe pressure on the lock bolt keeps it frombeing deformed and facilitates its ready withdrawal and re-use.

In FIG. 4 the lock bolt is shown in place and the forward edge of thestabilizer is retained in alignment by the edge of the heavilyreinforced fluke, hence an exceptionally strong union of the parts isobtained.

Through the use of this invention the width of a large anchor wasreduced 60 percent from a width of 12 feet to under six feet. This is agreat advantage during shipping and storage. In addition the holdingpower of the anchor is greatly augmented by the aforementioned extensionof the surface of the tripping palms. It has been found that in ananchor of the character illustrated approximately 22 percent of thetotal holding power is derived from such extension of the surface of thetripping palms onto the stabilizers.

We claim:

1. A large heavy anchor construction of the type which is normally flatduring storage and shipment and wherein an elongate shank is provided atone end with a transversely-extending fluke supporting journal shaft andfluke arms lying in a common plane are positioned on opposite sides ofsaid shank, said anchor including a crown assembly constitutingextensions of said flukes, the improvement which comprises:

a pivot assembly located on each fluke adjacent the outer edge;

a stock arm supported by each pivot assembly, said stock arms in theirfolded position each having an edge lying closely along the outer edgeof the fluke upon which it is mounted;

said stock arms each having a crown-contacting end abutment locatedadjacent the pivot assembly which abutment contacts the end of the crownassembly when the arms are in their extended position to apply the majorstock arm deflecting forces thereagainst; locking means for each arm,said locking means including at least one check on the stock arm and oneon the crown 5 assembly;

said cheeks overlapping when said arms are in their extended position;each cheek being formed with an opening, which openings are aligned whensaid arms are in their extended position; and a fastening memberreceivable in said aligned openings; said pivot, abutment and lockingmeans being so related that the parts are in a predetermined alignmentrelationship when the stock arms are folded and, upon extension of sucharms, are brought into position of maximum arm supporting strength. 2.The anchor of claim 1 wherein the stabilizer arms when extended liesubstantially along the axis ofthe journal.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the amount of shear stresspresent on the said lock means is indepenent of the mag- 20 nitude ofthe rearward pressure on the said stabilizer arm.

